Lions fire offensive coordinator John Morton after just one season as Detroit misses postseason

Morton had big shoes to fill following Ben Johnson's departure

The Detroit Lions have fired offensive coordinator John Morton after just one season, the team announced. Morton, previously the passing game coordinator of the Denver Broncos, was hired to replace Ben Johnson, who left last offseason to become the Chicago Bears' coach. 

Under Johnson's tutelage, the Lions led the NFL with 33.2 points per game in 2024 en route to a 15-win season. This year, the Lions finished tied for fourth in scoring (28.3), third in passing yards and eighth in red zone efficiency but failed to reach the postseason for the first time since 2022, going just 9-8 on the heels of consecutive NFC North titles. 

The Lions went 12-5 in 2023, losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, and then went 15-2 in 2024, only to get upset in the divisional round by the Washington Commanders. The team had Super Bowl aspirations entering 2025, but fell well short of expectations. 

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Lions coach Dan Campbell took over as the team's offensive play-caller prior to their Week 10 win over the Commanders. At the time, Campbell downplayed the change while saying that the team's play-calling was a collaborative effort. 

"It was just, let's try something a little different," Campbell said at the time. "Look, I know what I want to do, I know how I want to do it. Now, that being said, this is a collaborative effort. I was taking input from John Morton that whole time, and the other coaches." 

While that may have been true, it's clear now that Campbell wasn't happy with the direction of the Lions' offense. Meanwhile, Johnson enjoyed highly-successful season with the Bears that included an NFC North division title. Chicago will host the Green Bay Packers this weekend in the NFC wild card round. 

The Lions were just 20th in the NFL on third down and 14th in rushing despite having one of the league's best running back duos in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. While Gibbs enjoyed a big season, Montgomery was carried the ball a career-low 158 times. 

Morton, 56, was a senior offensive assistant on Campbell's staff in Detroit in 2022 before two years in Denver. He had a previous stint as an offensive coordinator with the New York Jets in 2017 and also worked as an offensive assistant with three other teams -- the Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.